Building Safety Bill

Debate between Baroness Young of Old Scone and Lord Greenhalgh

Committee stage
Wednesday 2nd March 2022 Grand Committee

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

Social homes are already safer than homes of other tenures in respect of electrical safety. In 2019, 71% of social homes had all five electrical safety features compared to 60% of owner occupied and 65% of private rented homes. Under obligations in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, social landlords are required to keep electrical installations in repair, and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 requires social landlords to keep homes free of electrical hazards.

With that explanation, I ask the noble Baroness to withdraw her amendment.

[Baroness Young of Old Scone (Lab)]

Perhaps I am the only person in the room who does not know what updating the approved document actually delivers, so perhaps the Minister could give us some information.

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

Effectively, the Building Act 1984 has various approved documents, and Approved Document K would be the relevant document to update, which would then set that standard in building regulations. As the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, has pointed out, when you build new-build homes, you have to build to those regulations. Does that help the noble Baroness understand what I said? I am sorry I am so unclear; I will do better next time.

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

Dates?

[Baroness Young of Old Scone (Lab)]

I live in Cornwall, and we do things dreckly. For the moment, I am happy to withdraw the amendment.

Housing: New Developments

Debate between Baroness Young of Old Scone and Lord Greenhalgh

Thursday 17th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My noble friend is right that it is important not just to have volume as the driver but to think about the quality of the housing. Indeed, our reforms enable there to be model design codes. We have a draft national model design code that shows how to engage the community in creating places that reflect local views and allow people to shape the places they live in.

[Baroness Young of Old Scone (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, what local people object to is large numbers of houses being dumped in their back yard to fulfil the Government’s flawed housing targets, because they know that they are based on out-of-date 2014 assumptions and dodgy algorithms that focus housing in areas where houses are least affordable. The Minister has already had a biffing on this from his Home Counties colleagues. Will the Government revisit the housing target calculation and will the Minister comment on why annual planning permissions for houses have more than doubled in the last 10 years, yet house prices have not come down and, indeed, houses have not been built?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, we have already looked at the approach to assessing local housing need to ensure that we see greater focus on the renewal of our cities and towns rather than urban sprawl. So we have already taken that point on board.

Gypsies, Travellers and Roma: Racism and Discrimination

Debate between Baroness Young of Old Scone and Lord Greenhalgh

Thursday 25th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

I wrote to local authorities emphasising the need to take a negotiated, stopping-model approach, which has been taken up by a number of local authorities during the pandemic. I commit that the cross-departmental strategy will be forthcoming. Obviously the focus has been on the Covid-19 pandemic.

[Baroness Young of Old Scone (Lab) [V]]

What note are Her Majesty’s Government taking, in respect of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, of the fact that over 75% of police respondents to the Home Office consultation did not support the proposed new criminal offence of trespass with intent to reside?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

I note the points around that consultation, but 66% of local authorities that responded to the 2019 consultation were in favour of introducing a new criminal offence for those who reside on unauthorised encampments, and 94% supported one or more of the proposed amendments in the Bill under consideration.

Building Safety

Debate between Baroness Young of Old Scone and Lord Greenhalgh

Monday 22nd February 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for making the point. It would be fair to say that the new tax on developers, details of which will be announced shortly, will include a number of the major developers historically responsible for high rises. She makes an important point that we should also consider the role of cladding manufacturers in this crisis. It is fair to say that, while developers have made good solid profits in recent years, the cladding manufactures have had healthy profit margins too. It is important that they are made to contribute to the resolution of the cladding crisis.

[Baroness Young of Old Scone (Lab) [V]]

The Minister did not answer the question raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock. Post-Grenfell surveys have revealed other fire-related defects such as flawed fire separation. The leaseholders in these properties suffer the same problems of the inability to sell, high remediation costs and rocketing or no insurance. Yet the Government seem to be leaving it to leaseholders, building owners or somebody unspecified to pursue action against those who made the errors and omissions in the past. This is not good enough. What will the Government do to help these non-cladding victims?

Planning: Accessible Homes

Debate between Baroness Young of Old Scone and Lord Greenhalgh

Wednesday 4th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

I refer to my previous answer. The results of the consultation will be published by March 2021.

[Baroness Young of Old Scone (Lab) [V]]

The Minister indicated that more homes were needed, as well as more accessible homes. We know that the viability test often puts the lid on accessibility being built into the equation by developers when they say that they cannot afford to provide these standards. Can the Minister assure the House that, in this consultation, the Government will not allow developers to hold them to ransom, as well as those in need of these higher levels of accessibility in their homes?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, the Government recognise the importance of accessible housing for the elderly and the disabled. I point to the strengthening of the policy approach in the NPPF in July 2018 and in the planning guidance issued in June 2019 on housing for the disabled. These point to the direction in which we are travelling to ensure that there is enough accessible housing. As your Lordships know, we have been looking at Part M of the Building Regulations as well.